Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/141

 PARSONS 131 root of promising appearance, he continued to breed from this, and by careful selection es- tablished a variety which in ten years was put in the seed market as the student parsnip, which still maintains a high reputation. Pars- nips were held in much esteem by the Ro- mans, who boiled and ate them with honey ; the leaves were eaten to promote digestion, and it was believed that if a portion of the plant were carried about the person the wear- er would never be stung by serpents. In cul- tivation parsnips do best in a light rich soil, which is better if manured the previous au- tumn ; the seeds are not to be depended upon if more than a year old ; they are sown in drills 15 in. apart, as early as the soil can be worked, thinned to 6 in. apart, and kept free from weeds until the leaves are so large as to prevent work- ing between the rows. As the root is perfect- ly hardy, it is harvested after more tender kinds have been cared for ; the roots are stored in trenches covered with litter, or placed in barrels or bins with sand or sandy earth among them to prevent drying. It is customary to leave a portion of the crop in the ground over winter, as many think the freezing it is sub- jected to renders the root more sweet and ten- der ; but such roots should be dug as soon as the frost is out, as growth starts early, and if they begin to grow their quality is impaired. The varieties are few. The common or Dutch parsnip has a root 20 to 30 in. long and 3 to 4 in. in diameter at the shoulder, occasionally with a few strong fangs or branches. The Guernsey has very long tapering roots ; on the island of Guernsey, where they are an impor- tant crop, it is not unusual for them to be 4 ft. long. The hollow-crowned has a depressed ring around the insertion of the leaf stalks, for which reason it is also called the cup parsnip ; it is about 18 in. long and 4 in. in diameter at the shoulder, ending somewhat abruptly in a small tap root ; this is the variety most culti- vated. The round or turnip-rooted is very broad in proportion to its length. The student has a superior flavor. The yield is from 500 to 800 bushels to the acre, according to the soil. The root contains water 85-05, albumi- noids 7'30, sugar 2*88, other carbohydrates 6'77, besides a small amount of oil and inor- ganic matter. An infusion of the roots con- tains sufficient sugar to form when fermented with hops a kind of beer, and a marmalade and parsnip wine are made from them. PARSONS, a city of Labette co., Kansas, at the junction of the Sedalia branch of the Mis- souri, Kansas, and Texas railroad with the main line extending from Junction City to Denison, Texas, 120m. S. by E. of Topeka; pop. in 1875, 3,500. It is built on a high roll- ing prairie between and near the junction of the Big and Little Labette rivers. The chief manufactories are the shops of the railroad company, a large grist mill, a steam furniture factory, a plough factory, three wagon and carriage factories, a brewery, a cotton gin, and a chair factory. There are a national bank with a capital of $300,000, a savings bank with $100,000 capital, masonic and odd fellows' halls, two public school buildings costing $40,- 000, graded public schools with 500 pupils, three weekly newspapers, and five churches : Congregational, Episcopal, Methodist, Presby- terian, and Roman Catholic. Parsons was laid out and the first lot sold, March 8, 1871. PARSONS. I. Theophilus, an American jurist, born in Byfield, Essex co., Mass., Feb. 24, 1750, died in Boston, Oct. 30, 1813. He graduated at Harvard college in 1769, and was admitted to the bar at Falmouth (now Portland), Me,, in 1774. The almost total destruction of Fal- mouth by a British fleet in October, 1775, having interrupted his career in that place, he returned to Byfield, and for several years re- ceived the instruction and assistance of Judge Trowbridge, called by Chancellor Kent "the oracle of the common law in New England." In the library of this jurist, one of the best in America, he laid the foundation of a vast ac- cumulation of legal learning. Settling in New- buryport, he entered upon a lucrative practice, which gradually embraced all the New Eng- land states. In 1778 he formed one of the so-called " Essex Junto," a body of citizens of Essex county who opposed the adoption of the state constitution recently framed by the Mas- sachusetts legislature; and he was probably the author of the pamphlet known as " The Essex Result," which contributed largely to the rejection of the constitution. In 1779 he was a delegate to the convention which framed the state constitution finally adopted ; and in 1788 of the convention to ratify the federal constitution, which he actively supported, be- ing the author of the "Proposition" offered by John Hancock ratifying the instrument, and recommending certain amendments known as the "conciliatory resolutions." He occa- sionally served in the legislature after this, but took no prominent part in public affairs, although to the close of his life he remained a consistent federalist. In 1800 he removed to Boston, and in 1806 was appointed chief jus- tice of the supreme judicial court, which post he held at the time of his death. A collection of his judicial opinions was published in New York under the title of " Commentaries on the Law of the United States." His decisions threw much light upon the laws of pleading, marine insurance, and real property, and he rendered a substantial service to the commu- nity by discountenancing delays and expediting the trial of causes. He was distinguished as a classical scholar, and as a mathematician of considerable ability. An elaborate memoir of him has been published by his son (Boston, 1859). II Theophilns, an American jurist, son of the preceding, born in Newburyport, Mass., May 17, 1797. He graduated at Harvard col- lege in 1815, studied law, and after a brief visit to Europe entered upon the practice of his profession, first in Taunton, and afterward in